Survival Food – Freeze Dried & MRE

The Importance of Freeze Dried Food For Emergency Preparedness
By Timothy Darwin Lee

No one knows when the next earthquake, hurricane or other natural disaster will hit. Civil unrest can occur in a very short period of time and require that you have the means to stay indoors for at least 72-hours, or perhaps even longer.

But what if you had to remain inside for a week? How about a month? While every household should have some type of emergency preparedness supplies, how many households have enough supplies to last one or two months in the event of an emergency? Many households stock extra pantry items such as canned foods along with emergency lights, batteries, blankets, first aid kits, and other emergency supplies. However, the most important items in your survival stash needs to be food and water.

When creating a food storage strategy, consider some of these benefits of freeze dried food:

1. Long-term shelf life

Purchasing #10 cans of freeze dried food will keep for 25 years depending on the storage temperature. All the major freeze dried manufacturers make #10 cans which is a standard method of food storage. Cans in storage can be rotated for backpacking and camping trips, or just rotated as part of your normal meal preparation. Even smaller containers such as #2 ? cans from AlpineAire have a 15-year shelf life, and small 2 and 4-person serving freeze dried food pouches last 7 years.

2. No cooking required – just add water

Many preppers underestimate the benefits of having freeze dried food that can be prepared quickly and easily by just adding water. While hot water is desirable for the best taste, in case of an emergency, cold water will provide the same nutritional benefits. The last thing you want to do in a survival scenario is to worry about different meal combinations as you want to dedicate all of your energy to keeping yourself or your family safe.

3. Food has intrinsic value

Food is a universal currency during a survival scenario. You can trade it for other necessities such as medicines, protection, or transportation. Your food value also never goes to waste as you can rotate the food that you purchase in and out of your food storage. Finally, buying food now with a long shelf-life locks in the cost of food now so in the event of severe price inflation, your supply of freeze dried food has already been paid for.

4. Other considerations

• Food storage gives you peace of mind knowing that you are prepared in the event of a disaster.
• You can supplement your freeze dried food supplies with canned foods and foods you use regularly but have 1-2 year shelf life so that it can function as both food storage and an extended pantry.
• Do not forget to stock up on your most favorite items such as coffees, teas, hot chocolate, candies, and whatever else you view as a luxury or comfort food. In times of crisis, these food items will help lift your spirits.
• Consider whether you need to have smaller, more portable food storage units if the types of disaster you are preparing for may require you to move quickly. A six month supply of food storage is great to have in your basement, but if you cannot stay at home during an emergency, you need the ability to collect your food and move quickly.

In summary, serious thinking about how an emergency scenario may affect you should lead you to consider, amongst everything else, that food is a key element to your disaster planning.

Timothy writes is an avid backpacker and writes on a variety of topics including freeze dried food and the impact of the recent spike in demand for popular freeze dried food brands such as Mountain House.

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Freeze Dried Foods
By Geo Genesis Macana

Freeze dried foods are perfect for any type of emergency. Whether for life threatening emergencies, or when you just need to prepare a quick meal for surprise guests, you will surely have something easy to prepare and to eat on such situations.

Freeze dried products are also called survival food. They are food that has undergone a special preservation process which involves removing all its moisture content which will extend its shelf life for up to a few months and even to a year. This process of preservation can be dated back to ancient times but is done today with modern equipment.

Freeze dried foods are one of the best types of survival food available in the market today for many reasons. Being able to last in storage is one thing. When no one really knows when an emergency or calamity could strike, it helps to be prepared. So whether disaster strikes this month or the next, having stock of edible survival food at home that is ready to prepare and eat is a great survival plan. Emergencies too might last longer than a few days, or even for weeks. And because of this, your food stocks must be able to last just as long. With freeze dried foods, just as long as they are stored properly (away from contaminants and moisture) they will last just as long as you have to.

Products such as these, apart from its extended shelf life, are also some of the most nutritious ones available. The drying process food undergoes allows it to retain much of its nutritious contents and minerals which would be lost if preserved through other means. This is an important factor when it comes to choosing survival food. In an emergency, or even on ordinary days, your nutrition is very important. With freeze dried foods, you will always know that what you are eating or have stored at home is healthy for you and your family.

Available in a wide variety of flavors and food types, freeze dried products are never boring. They come in a great selection of flavors you can choose from, whether you are looking for fruits, meat, vegetables, and up to even whole cuisines and recipes.

Freeze dried foods are one of the most versatile preserved food out there. They are nutritious, healthy; they come in a variety of tastes, and will last in your pantry or storage room for a long time. Stock up on your favorite flavors now!

Freeze Dried Foods

Your Food Storage

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The Advantages Of Emergency MRE Meals Compared To Canned Good Products
By Mike Oblacion

Many people pick canned good products as their first choice when choosing food for emergency purposes because it is readily available in the market. Many of them do not know the advantages of picking emergency MREs (meals ready to eat) over canned goods because they may have not encountered this type of meal. This article will enlighten the readers about the benefit that MRE meals give to the buyers.

Preparing for emergency is important especially if you think that your community is prone to disasters because of different reasons such as you live near the ocean where tsunami might occur or you always experience flooding even though typhoons are not strong. If this is the case then you need to establish a good disaster supply kit which contains food that will last for many years.

MRE meals can help solve the problem that many people have which is their canned good products are reaching its expiration date before they get to consume them. People who buy this type of meal do not have this problem because this type of meal lasts for as long as fourteen years and they do not have to check the expiration date every month.

Canned good products are heavy because of its packaging which is a disadvantage when they need to evacuate their place due to the disaster. MRE meals on the other hand are lightweight and convenient to carry. You can store numerous it in a plastic container under your bed or in your disaster supply bag without worrying about how heavy it will be when calamity strikes your area. Another thing that it is good about these meals is its packaging because it is easy to open and it can withstand different climate change. There are different menus that a family can choose from and it is packed with high caloric content which is good because you need the energy to move from one place to another especially if you are struggling to evacuate.

MRE meals are good to consume because the taste were designed by top chefs who have the best interest when it comes to the approval of the consumers. It is good to consume because everything you need is in the pack of every meal. You do not have to think about nutrition because these meals provide you with your recommended daily allowance.

If you want to purchase Emergency MREs, visit the MRE Meals ready to eat Website.

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Tips For Buying Emergency Food Rations
By Timothy Dalton

If you’re looking to stock up on your food supplies for emergency situations, then congratulations are in order as you are taking responsibility for your well-being as well as those of your loved ones.

When purchasing emergency food rations, there are a few things one should consider: cost, shelf life, convenience and taste.

One particular type of emergency food that almost everyone has around the house is canned goods. The reason is because it’s cheap, good to eat, and readily available in grocery stores, and it is easy to prepare. But let me ask how one will eat such an item if there were no heat source available to warm the food? Would you be willing to eat it cold? Of course, if you’re hungry enough, it wouldn’t matter but it is always nice to have warm comfort food. Canned food items are usually meant to be eaten in two years. However, it does depend on the acidic level of the canned item. Lower acidic food like meats have a longer shelf life and higher acidic food like fruit and vegetables have a shorter shelf life. You can take a chance on eating expired canned goods but that is at your own discretion.

Another popular type of emergency food is the freeze dried food. The process takes all the water out of the food making it extremely lightweight to carry. This is why freeze dried food is particularly popular with hikers, campers and backpackers. Surprisingly, when the food is rehydrated with water, it keeps much of its original taste as well and can be quite delicious to eat. These packages are not cost prohibitive and can be found for as little as four to five dollars for an individual meal pouch. If you get a #10 can of freeze dried food, then the cost per person is even cheaper. The storage life on freeze dried food is great as well. It can last for as long as 25 years although some manufacturers say it is good for 40 years if stored in the right conditions which generally just means a dry and cool place. Freeze dried food really is a buy and forget type meal. However, just as with canned foods, you can eat it cold when hydrating it with cold water but warm water is always preferred to have a hot meal. The question is will you have hot water in an emergency?

The third type of emergency food ration is the MRE or meal ready to eat. Originally, the MRE meal was designed for the U.S. military but the demand proved strong enough that manufacturers sold civilian versions to the public as well. An MRE package is the most convenient of all the emergency foods discussed so far as it is a complete meal with a main entrée, side entree, dessert, beverage mix, crackers/bread and a spread mixture. To top it off, the package provides self warming flameless ration heater, something that is lacking from the other two options. Of course, all this convenience will cost more as a package will run around $6-$7 per bag. MREs also last on average 3 years before they expire. The taste of MRE is also quite good as well and some people eat this as they would a casual night indoors like they would a TV dinner.

All three options are good to have on hand in case of emergency situations. The type you decide to buy are up to your budget, preference and lifestyle.

Timothy Dalton is a freelance writer who is also an outdoor enthusiast. Timothy just loves MRE meals ready to eat as nutritious and tasty camping MRE meals.

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How Military Meals – Ready to Eat – Can Supplement Your Emergency Food Rations in a Disaster
By Doug Kramer

Disaster can strike in a moment’s notice. If it happened to you, would you be prepared? Beyond the first aid kit, most people not ready for a true emergency. When tragedy strikes on a large scale, affecting hundreds or thousands at once, how will you get your family what they need? With large scale disasters, most homeowners are on their own for the first 48-72 hours while emergency workers gather and prepare to assist. All families should have an emergency preparedness kit that contains enough food and water for at least 3 days.

Military meals ready to eat can go a long way to providing your family with their food needs for the first 72 hours.

While you may think you probably have enough food in your pantry to stretch for 3 days, you never know when that food may become contaminated or even inaccessible. When gathering supplies for an emergency preparedness kit, it is best to plan ahead with a food supply that lasts. While canned goods, crackers, and high-water food items are good choices, it is difficult to create a complete and nutritious meal out of them. For that reason, military meals ready to eat, or MRE’s, should always be a part of your kit.

Here are five distinct advantages that military meals ready to eat have over standard grocery store canned goods.

• MRE’s are self contained in tamper-proof packaging that is water-tight and weather-proof.
• Meals ready to eat can hold their nutritional value for up to 5 years making them simple “set-it-and-forget-it” emergency food rations.
• These types of emergency food rations do not require cooking or water.
• Military meals-ready-to-eat can be eaten hold or cold. Many come with MRE heaters which require only a cup of water to heat the entrée to near boiling with no stove required.
• MRE’s come complete with an entrée, side dish, drink mix, condiments, spread, cracker and dessert. To be quite honest, they are a lot of fun to eat, especially when kids get to open their own and dump out the “treat bag” so-to-speak.

With more and more families preparing ahead of time for disasters, military meals ready to eat are not made just for the military anymore. There are a variety of suppliers that offer items from the basic needs to gourmet wants, spreading a wide range of budgets.

Military MRE’s are the easiest, safest and most cost effective way to stock your emergency kit.  Be prepared.  Buy MRE’s.  You’ll be thankful when disaster strikes.

As an independent and responsible citizen family, we believe in assisting the government in a disaster situation by being ourselves self-reliant and prepared. This requires preparation and planning. We also want to be a valuable resource to you and other families in our neighborhood, county and city. That’s why we created a site specifically designed to provide you with information on military meals ready to eat or MRE’s. Visit http://www.mremealwarehouse.com for information on MRE’s, emergency food rations and other disaster preparedness resources.

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Advantages of Freeze Dried Food – For All Ages
By Adam M Rise

There are many advantages of freeze dried food, and they’ve come a long way from 30 years ago when it was first introduced for the astronauts and for backpackers. In fact, today’s freeze dried foods have all of the flavor, texture, and vitamins and nutrients of canned or other types of frozen food. In fact, there are going to be certain types of freeze-dried food that is actually better than frozen as a keeps its flavor and vital nutrients. This means that you can keep freeze-dried food for a very long period of time.

Another of the advantages you’ll have is the weight, you’ll have to have very good supporting shelves for canned food whereas freeze-dried food on the other hand is relatively small and takes up less space and doesn’t need the support.

Many hobby exercise individuals such as those that do backpacking, bicycling and camping enjoy lightweight of freeze-dried food as well. They have found that they can pack more food for a longer period of time if they use freeze-dried food than if they try to pack traditional food. They then will just have to have a water source in order to reconstitute the food into a fully nutritious meal.

Many people store it for emergency conditions. They will store in a bunker or other type of safe area that they will need should there ever be an earthquake or other natural disaster. Of course, there are those who figure that sooner or later war will tear our country apart and store freeze-dried food as well.

The freeze and drying process for freeze-dried food as changed as well, now, they use a drying, heated and freezing process. The food is first frozen, it is then put it into a low pressure chamber where it is heated in order to allow the water to become a gas. It is then frozen again, and this allows pockets within the food that allows the expansion when it’s rehydrated.

There are many advantages to freeze-dried food, and one of the best, of course, is the taste is so much better than what was originally produced over 30 years ago. The freezing and drying process is quicker, maintains better flavor, and actually keeps vitamins and nutrients intact.

While it might make sense to store a bit of canned food around in case of emergency, it makes even better sense to go ahead and purchase freeze-dried food and water to give you and your family as supply of good nutritious food, should you ever need it. You’ll find a wide assortment of types of freeze-dried food, in fact, just about any type of food is available. Find out more tips about freeze dried food at http://freezedriedfood.referenceguidetips.com

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